Tag Archives: Planning

Column: The secret to making great streets

Posted on March 20, 2014 by David Brussat

The secret to great streets is that there is no secret, that great streets were once the norm, that making them is easy, and that we can have them again, even in America, if we want them. This is the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Art and design, Book/Film Reviews, Other countries, Preservation, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Proposed for Benefit Street

Posted on March 19, 2014 by David Brussat

Yesterday I posted about several projects in Providence, including an excavation of a front yard at 43 Benefit, the Joseph Jenckes House. I talked to Jason Martin of the city’s planning office and he sent me PDFs of the project, … Continue reading →

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Column: The easy way to build on R.I.’s assets

Posted on March 13, 2014 by David Brussat

Almost all cities and states have policies intended to strengthen their economies by building on their assets. Most fail because they reject easy strategies and embrace difficult strategies. Two recent Commentary pieces in The Providence Journal address this issue: “Wise … Continue reading →

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Leon Krier’s tale of post-carbuncle London

Posted on March 5, 2014 by David Brussat

Here is Leon Krier’s piece, “Sustainable Architecture and the Legible City,” just published in Britain’s Architectural Review. Krier recalls the atmosphere in London architectural circles after Prince Charles’s speech denouncing an addition to the National Gallery as “a carbuncle on … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Other countries, Providence, Uncategorized, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Curse of the ‘Creative Capital’

Posted on January 17, 2014 by David Brussat

The rebranding of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC) as the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation (RICC) is complete, and a complete dud. This is the government agency that’s supposed to get the state economy growing again to produce jobs … Continue reading →

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Saved: The George C. Arnold Block

Posted on January 11, 2014 by David Brussat

I am leery of the government taking buildings by eminent domain – that is, offering a take-it-or-leave it price, supposedly “fair market,” to a building owner, who, if he doesn’t take it will have the taking done for him by … Continue reading →

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Column: Roses and raspberries for 2013

Posted on January 9, 2014 by David Brussat

From amid the doldrums of economic lethargy, good news and potential roses for 2013 arose last year in downtown Providence, where the Arcade is being redeveloped, as are four buildings once owned by Providence Gas. Dr. Downtown suspects that readers … Continue reading →

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Wherefore art thou, Corbuseo?

Posted on January 5, 2014 by David Brussat

Correspondent Malcolm Millais, author of Exploding the Myths of Modern Architecture (2009) has sent me a 29-minute BBC clip of a radio show, “Great Lives,” starring the modernist Sir David Chipperfield rattling on about Le Corbusier, one of, no, perhaps … Continue reading →

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“Wrong Way” Corrigan Public Library

Posted on December 29, 2013 by David Brussat

Dale Thompson has retired after 25 years as executive director of the Providence Public Library. I make no comment on her accomplishments, except to note that over that span she – and the library’s board – oversaw the renovation of … Continue reading →

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Illustrations for “Paradise Planned” column

Posted on December 20, 2013 by David Brussat

Here are illustrations for today’s column, published earlier, called “Garden suburbs as ‘Paradise Planned.’ ” Eventually they will appear with the Journal’s online version of the column as they once did with my old blog, and will be linked weekly … Continue reading →

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